Hidden
by LisaMVause
Summary: After the Riot. Piper has been out of Litchfield for almost 3 years. She has not heard from or seen Alex since the Riot. Now living in an apartment with Nicky, is her future destined to be without Alex or will they cross paths again? Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, the internet still hasn't been connected here, it's so frustrating. I'm sure Australia is like ten years behind the rest of the world when it comes to connectivity. Anyway, I promised a new story and since I'm already five chapters into this one, I thought I would post it now rather than wait. It's an idea I've had written on a note on my desktop for ages and I finally got around to it. As always, Please review. :)**

 **Lise xx**

Piper Chapman had been out of prison for 2 years and 8 months. After the prison riot in Litchfield, Alex had been grabbed and taken to a different prison and Piper had never heard from her again. Nicky had been placed in the same prison as Piper and they had become very close friends. Once Piper was released from prison it was pretty evident that Polly did not want to be involved in the soap business anymore and with her two young boys (One of which she had with Larry) She was busy playing house and being the biggest fan of Larry's writing career.

Piper hadn't let this put her off, though and had convinced Polly to sign all the rights to the soap business over to her by convincing her that it would make up for all the hurt she had caused with Larry. Once Nicky had been released from prison she made her partner and they had been running the new soap company "Picnic Bath & Body" ( **Pi** per **C** hapman, **Nic** ky) for the past year and a half. They specialized They were doing unbelievably well and had managed to get onto the shelves in Barneys.

Piper had searched for Alex for a year after she was released, determined to find her. She managed to find the prison she had been transferred to and had called them but they had stated they had no inmates named "Alex Vause" and that she had either been released or transferred. It had dawned on Piper that Alex had probably been released by now but all her searches had come up empty. It was like Alex had disappeared from the face of the earth. Many a night, Piper had cried herself to sleep. They had just gotten engaged and Alex had been so cruelly taken from her. Nicky had consoled her and told her that Alex would surely be looking for her too and she would just have to patiently wait until she found her. Piper had taken Nicky's advice and ploughed all her energy into the business.

Nicky kept trying to set her up on various dates but nothing had ever come of them. Piper was too interested in waiting for Alex to show up. Every time she saw anyone with dark hair walk past the store, her heart would quicken and she would stop breathing, waiting, longing for it to be Alex. Of course, it never was.

Saturday night, Nicky had arranged a party to celebrate them securing their second big contract, it would guarantee them $50000.

"Piper, did you pick up the cake? There ain't no way I just secured $50000 legally, without eating my weight in the heaviest chocolate cake money can buy!"

Piper laughed at Nicky's sweet tooth, she was always going on about how she never got enough sugar in prison and now had to make up for it by stocking up the flat she and Piper shared. Since prison was pretty crammed in the end anyway, they figured they would be able to share a place on the outside too. Nicky had told Piper that she just wanted her own room to decorate how she liked and Piper could do what she wanted with the rest of the flat.

Piper had a large floral print on the main wall, behind the fireplace. They had placed an average size flat screen TV on the wall and a cosy cream coloured sofa draped with a neutral coloured throw. They had their kitchen remodelled when they had moved in, it was cream coloured cabinets with a thick wooden benchtops and brick style tiles. It all came together quite nicely and both girls were glad to have some comforts rather than their prison bunks and itchy blankets.

It was winter and the temperatures had dropped considerably, people were bustling around the city in a hurry to get inside into the warmth, tourists, who had come to experience the famous winter were also starting to accumulate, bringing more custom to the store.

Piper had been preparing for the party and had rang around all of her phone contacts to invite them, she had also told them to bring their friends or anyone else who wanted to come along. She feared she may have overdone it with the party planning and had hired a catering company. She was worried about how everyone would fit into their flat.

Piper decided she would run out and collect the cake, she figured she would be able to cram it into their already overloaded fridge. She put on her jacket and boots and headed out the door.

"I'm going to get the cake, Nick, I'll be back in half an hour."

Piper loved walking places rather than hailing a cab. She loved taking in all the different faces walking by her and enjoyed the fresh, crisp winter air. As she walked, Alex slipped back into her thoughts, she remembered when they would go on walks together. Winter always made Alex look better, somehow. Piper loved seeing her in a beanie hat and scarf, her long dark curls tumbling down either side of her face. She remembered when once they had been out to dinner in the middle of the city. Piper had begged her to walk home with her rather than hail a cab and Alex had agreed after about ten minutes of Piper nagging her. She was wearing a long black coat and stiletto heels and half way home it had begun to snow, a fresh blanket lay thick over the floor and Piper had taken a photo of Alex on one of the street corners. She looked beautiful, even standing there, freezing to death, her high heels balancing on the crisp white snow, the street lights beaming down. Piper still had that photo somewhere, she vowed to look through some boxes once she got home to see if she could find it.

She arrived in the cake shop, everything looked delicious but Nicky had specified which cake she wanted. It was toblerone and apparently was the "best in the land."

"Hi, I'm here to pick up the toblerone cake. My friend requested it."

The girl was young and dark haired and had caught Piper's eye as soon as she had walked in. The girl smiled shyly at her.

"Um, Sure, I'll just have a look out back for it."

The girl bustled off and Piper could hear her giggling and talking to someone. When she appeared again she had a friend with her who was also eyeing up Piper.

"Here's your cake…"

The girl handed over the large box and looked as though she was building the courage to ask something.

"That's $25 please, oh and um, My friend over here said you looked like that girl from that viral video… you know, the one with the prison riot…"

Piper's face fell. That was the last thing she was expecting. The video with Piscatella had gone viral, the one where she was propped up against a wall wrapped in a shower curtain and had said the famous line; "I'm good with my tongue"

"Nope, that wasn't me, cool to know I have someone who looks like me though, even if it was in some random video you are talking about."

Piper handed over the money and left the cake store as quickly as possible.

She took her time wandering home, though the cake was weighing her down. She didn't quite know what to make of what had just transpired in the store. If that's what those girls thought when they looked at her, was that what everyone else was thinking too?"

Once she reached the apartment door she pushed it open and shouted for Nicky to come and check the cake.

"Hey, Nicky, come and check this cake is the one you wanted. God I had a hell of a trip. Those girls in there recognised me from the prison video, can you believe that?"

Piper walked further into the apartment and found Nicky lazing on the couch.

"Holy shit, I gotta hand it to you, I never thought we would be famous for that, Chapman." Nicky stood up from the couch, stretching as she did so.

"Let's have a look at it then!"

Nicky peeled back the box lid and was almost visibly drooling.

"That's the one! Do you know how many nights in prison I dreamt of this bad boy? I used to literally wake up in a pool of my own drool, I was practically drowning in my own desire."

Piper laughed at her. "Well you know what they say, once an addict, always an addict. Even if you are just addicted to chocolate cake now. We can cope with that. I'll hire a forklift once you get too fat, I could drive you to get more cake on it."

"Sounds like a plan!"

Nicky laughed. "God, Piper, I gotta tell you, we've come a long way since prison. I dunno, I think we are doing well, we work well together. I never thought I would be able to have my own money. My mom just used to give me wads of cash and I'd just blow it all on heroin. Now I'm making my own money and blowing it all on chocolate cake."

"Yeah well, I'm gonna put this in the fridge and whip us up some pasta for dinner, then I'm gonna put that documentary on the TV, You know, your favourite one about the murder scenes. You know, You're really weird, Nicky."

"Yeah, yeah, so I've been told. But nobody got anywhere by being normal now, did they, Chapman?"

"Yeah well look at Lorna…"

Piper's face fell when she realised what she had said. "Oh god, Nicky I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to just come out with that, you know how badly I suffer from foot in mouth disease!"

"Nah, It's ok. I mean, she wasn't normal, was she. Clearly! She happened, y'know. I'm aware. She was the love of my life but she chose to play house. That's fine. I'm moving on. To be honest, I couldn't keep going with the rollercoaster she had me on. I'm better off knowing where I stand."

"Yeah, I guess. I wish it was different for us both."

"Yeah, me too, Chapman, I'm starting to tire of you taking so long in the shower."

Piper mock slapped Nicky on the arm and both girls laughed.

"Hey, what can I say, I just love getting clean. I've always had a thing for showers."


	2. Chapter 2

The Party was in full swing and Piper was enjoying herself for once. She decided she deserved to have fun. Nicky, clearly intoxicated, had a girl pinned up against the wall outside of her bedroom.

Piper shook her head, smiling as she walked to the kitchen to grab herself another drink. They had a huge punch bowl in the middle of all the food on the kitchen table. As she strolled into the kitchen she was suddenly aware that someone was watching her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she looked over to see who it was. For a split second she could have sworn it was Alex but on a second glance it was just a girl with dark hair, who was, nevertheless, staring at her. She was smiling at her and Piper smiled back before striding over to introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Piper."

"I know who you are Piper, otherwise why would I be here?"

Piper smiled and waited for the girl to introduce herself.

"I'm Scarlett. I'm corporate at Barneys, I guess you went all out with the invites." The girl chuckled.

"Oh! I didn't realise I'd invited anyone from Barneys but I guess it means you get free drink and free dinner though, right? So it can't all be bad."

Piper had a cheeky smile on her face as Scarlett caught on to her little joke. They both laughed and Piper decided to push her a bit further.

"So Scarlett, when you aren't corporate at Barneys, what do you do?"

"I love art, I'm usually painting or cooking when I'm not at work. What do you do, Piper?"

She smirked when she said Piper's name and it reminded Piper of Alex. Piper was starting to get lost in her thoughts of Alex again. If she couldn't have Alex, maybe she could pretend.

"I usually pick up hot girls at my parties."

Scarlett's eyebrows shot up, she hadn't expected Piper to be so bold.

Piper laughed and stepped into Scarlett's personal space. "What do you say we take some food and go and have our own party?"

XXXXXX

Piper and Scarlett burst through Piper's bedroom door and Piper instantly pushed the dark haired girl against the wall and began kissing her passionately. If she squinted her eyes she could just pretend it was Alex, even though there was no spark, no fireworks like there was with Alex. Piper tried to ignore it, to just focus on the physical need of it all.

Scarlett reached under Piper's top and began groping her breasts. Piper moaned at the sensation, it felt nice. It just wasn't how Alex did it. Piper was desperately trying to stop her thoughts. She spun Scarlett around a little too fast and she went flying into the stack of boxes Piper hadn't got around to unpacking yet. They came tumbling down and some contents spilled out onto the floor. Scarlett got up and tried to gain Piper's attention again, however, Piper's attention was completely focused on something else. She couldn't quite believe her eyes. There, on the floor, amongst all the other stuff that had spilled out, was the photo of Alex in the snow.

"Um, Piper, are you ok?"

Piper was still staring at the floor, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. Scarlett bent down and picked up the photo.

"Woah, she's hot!" Scarlett exclaimed.

Piper sprang back to life again, she grabbed the photo from Scarlett and tucked it under her pillow.

She sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm sorry Scarlett, I can't do this."

Scarlett sat on the edge of the bed beside Piper and put her arm around her. They were both still a little breathless.

"It's ok, Piper. Whoever she is, I can tell she is very important to you. Do you want to talk about it?"

Piper smiled. "She's my Ex girlfriend. It's a long story but she's not around anymore."

"Ah, I see. The one that got away."

They both shared a smile before Scarlett stood up.

"Look, Piper, obviously I find you attractive otherwise we wouldn't be here but obviously you aren't over your Ex. I don't want to be the one who gets in the way of true love. I'm gonna go and let you get back to your party. Keep in touch though, maybe if you change your mind we could go out to dinner sometime."

Piper stood in front of Scarlett, already feeling bad for wasting her time.

"I mean, obviously I find you attractive too. I just can't get over Alex. She was the love of my life, I need closure before I can move on, I'm really sorry."

Scarlett put her number in Piper's phone and sent a text message to her own phone.

"Like I said, Piper, let me know if you change your mind." And with that she walked out of the door.

Piper sat on her bed for a while contemplating what just happened. She decided if she was ever going to get over Alex, she was going to have to have some closure.

She stayed in her room for the rest of the evening and fell to sleep clutching the photo of Alex to her chest.

XXXXXX

The next morning, Piper woke up to the sound of rustling and upon further investigation found Nicky with two large black bags, cleaning up some of the leftover food and empty cups and plates from the party. When Piper walked in she looked up.

"I didn't think you were getting up today Chapman, it's almost 11." Piper looked at her watch in shock.

"FUCK! What the hell!"

"Calm down, I didn't want to wake you. Its ages since you slept."

Piper thought back to the comforting feeling of having Alex's face clear in her mind again, from the photo as she drifted off to sleep.

"OK, thanks Nick, I'm just gonna go get a shower and then I'll help you clean the place up."

"Yeah, Ok, I'm almost done anyway, that chick you had in your room helped me clean up before she left this morning."

Piper stopped in her tracks. "What do you mean before she left this morning?"

"Well, she came out of your room looking like someone had shown her a picture of a dead puppy, so we had a few drinks and she crashed on the sofa. She told me what happened by the way. I don't know how you could blow her off, Piper. She's fucking hot, not to mention she's basically a Vause lookalike."

"That's the problem Nicky. I'm not over her! I tried to pretend she was Alex. It's not fair on Scarlett. She should be with someone who loves her for who she is not who they are pretending she is!"

Nicky sat down on a chair. "I get that, I do, I loved Lorna. The thing is, she's not around anymore, she's probably out there playing Mrs suburbia with her husband and children and not giving one fuck about me. So I have to move on and try to be happy without her. I tell ya, Piper. It's not easy but why should I let her ruin my life while she's out there enjoyin hers."

Piper scrunched her face in contemplation for what Nicky was telling her. She sagged down on the sofa and let out a puff of air. "I just can't, Nick. You had closure with Lorna, I know she got transferred after the riot to a different prison but you know how it played out, she would be out by now, with her baby and Vinnie. Alex just disappeared. I have no idea where she is! I need closure before I can move on. Please help me find her!"

Piper was practically crying now and Nicky moved across to comfort her.

"I'll help you find her, Piper, I just want you to be happy."

Piper buried her head in Nicky's shoulder, comforted by her friend's presence.

 **Hey guys,**

 **Here's the second chapter, a little bit sooner than I thought but I was so overwhelmed by the response and reviews from you guys that I didn't want to keep you all waiting too long. I've already planned out how this story will turn out and i'm several chapters ahead. I hope everyone from Houston is recovering from that awful storm and I hope everyone in Florida keeps safe from the impending storm. I'm praying for you guys.**

 **To everyone who reviewed, thank you so much! I definitely appreciate the feedback, it spurs me on! As always, please review :)**

 **Lise xx**


	3. Chapter 3

It had been 3 months since the Party and nothing had come of Piper and Nicky's search for Alex. Piper had thrown herself more into the business and was now looking to upgrade their warehouse and take on a new employee.

They were currently working on a new fragrance, Piper wanted it to be like blueberry cheesecake. As close to the real thing as possible. She was driving Nicky mad with it and was just on her way out to pick up some lunch and coffee for them both.

"So you want a chicken salad baguette and a cappuccino?"

Nicky nodded. "Yep, ooh you could pick me up some of those cheesy fries too, the ones from that cool new place that opened up."

Piper laughed and shook her head. "I will."

Piper stepped out into the crisp air and took a deep breath, as she always did.

She was hungry, she hadn't realised how hungry she was until she stepped into the café and could smell the food. She placed her order and then stepped aside to wait for it to be ready.

"Piper?"

Piper spun around and spotted Scarlett sitting in a booth with another girl. Piper smiled and waved awkwardly, not wanting to intrude if she was on a date. Scarlett waved her over so Piper obliged and walked closer.

"Piper! I knew it was you! How have you been? Sit down!"

Piper sat down at the booth. "This is Helene, one of my best friends. We're just grabbing lunch if you wanted to stop to chat."

"It's nice to meet you, Helene, I'm Piper."

"I know, it's nice to meet you, Piper, I've heard a lot about you." Helene said as she winked at Scarlett who had now blushed a rather amusing shade of red.

"Well, you'll have to stop by the shop sometime and I can set you up with some stuff. We're working on a blueberry cheesecake fragrance at the moment, I think I'm going to put it in a bubble bath so that people can smell like baked goods while they bathe."

Helene burst out laughing and Piper joined her. "Hey, I heard your soap business is doing pretty well actually."

"Yeah, We are looking to expand. We landed the Barney's deal and now we are going to upgrade our warehouse and possibly take on an employee."

"Well, here, take my card. I work for a huge online enterprise. They have been watching your soap company flourish and the big boss said if you guys landed Barney's we would look at taking your products on."

Piper sat there momentarily speechless. She couldn't believe her luck. "Who do you work for?"

"Suave Enterprises, we have only been open for a few years but the boss lady is amazing at importing and exporting goods so the business took off and it's like, a multi-million dollar business now."

"Wow, that sounds crazy! Um, yeah well, we would definitely be interested in making a deal. Here's our card too, just get in touch if you need anything."

The lady came over with Piper's order. Piper looked over at Scarlett, who was gazing at her proudly.

"Well, I guess I'll go take Nicky her lunch or she will be grumpy for the rest of the day. It was nice meeting you Helene and it was really nice seeing you again, Scarlett."

Piper excused herself and walked over to the exit.

"Piper, Wait!"

Piper turned to see Scarlett heading towards her in a hurry.

"Um, I just wanted to see if you wanted to go on that dinner yet, you know, that is if you are ready."

Piper shifted on her feet, a little uncomfortable. "Um, I still haven't had closure from Alex, y'know, but uh, I guess we could see where this goes?"

Piper didn't want to turn her down straight away, especially when she had just gained her a potentially huge deal with her friends work place.

Scarlett smiled and hugged Piper. "I think we would be good together, Piper. There's just something about you." She turned and strode back to her booth that Helene was still sitting at.

Piper walked back thinking about what had just transpired in the café.

"Come on Chapman, Jesus, what took you so long, I'm starving."

Piper giggled as she placed Nicky's chips, sandwich and coffee down in front of her and watched her inhale their scent.

"I wasn't gone that long but while I was out I bumped into Scarlett."

"Oh, so you're finally giving it a chance?"

"Well, she had a friend with her who works for this company called Suave, it's apparently a huge online business! Anyway, she said the boss lady had been watching our company for a while and they might want to take on our products!"

Nicky's mouth was hanging open. "Suave? Jesus Christ, Piper, they're huge! They are worth like, 10 million and they have only been open for a year and a half. Whoever is behind that business knows what they are doing. This could be huge!"

"I know! I told her we were working on the blueberry cheesecake scent, she laughed but they do seem interested! Oh and I'm going out for dinner with Scarlett."

"Oh, you decided to stop looking for Vause?"

"Well, no. I don't know, Nick. It's been so long. If she's alive, she hasn't bothered looking for me. I don't know what to do. I like Scarlett, I just keep comparing her to Alex. I guess I'll just go with it and see if it goes anywhere."

Nicky nodded. "So when's the big date?"

"Friday night at 6pm. We're heading off to the new Thai place."

"And then coming out drinking with me after." Nicky added. Piper smiled.

"Yeah, Ok! Sounds like a plan, I'll ask her to bring her friend and then if the date hasn't gone well, at least I have an escape."

Nicky laughed. "Ok, Piper but if I find a hot chick I'm ditching ya ass and you will have to stay there and make it up."

Piper nodded and carried on eating her own sandwich. "Nicky. what if I never see her again. What if I'm gonna have a life of her haunting my every thought but not being able to see her."

"Look, Piper, you were right earlier. She obviously hasn't looked for you so why should you live in her shadow?" Piper contemplated what Nicky had said.

"You know what, you're right, if she finds me, she finds me but I'm not gonna not live my life because she didn't."

"That's my girl!"

Piper was determined she wouldn't let Alex ruin the next date she went on with Scarlett. She had to start living her life properly, not a life she was going to waste because Alex wasn't in it. The more she thought about Alex getting out of prison and not looking for her, the angrier it made her. She felt hurt that Alex would just not find her. She lived in the same area, after all. It's not like it would be hard to find an ex Litchfield inmate who makes soap for a living.

 **Hey , here's chapter 3. So, I got the idea for the name from JenSurname's suave series, I've just used it in a different context.**

 **I know some of you will hate me for initially having Scarlett in here but Alex will come in in the later chapters, you will see why when we get there :)**

 **I hope you are all keeping safe from the wild weather in America. The world really is a scary place at the moment.**

 **I'm absolutely loving reading your reviews! Thank you all for posting and thank you all for sticking with this story, I just had this idea after the end of the last series when I was imagining all the different scenarios that could play out after the riot.**

 **Enjoy guys and as always, please review**

 **Lise xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, Here's the next chapter...**

 **to Nellesalvador: I totally understand where you are coming from, I have included Scarlett in here to show that Piper is still holding on to Alex, the fact she looks like Alex ... Piper can't let go of Alex no matter how long it's been because they are destined to be together. Also it adds a little bit of suspense and I want you to feel like she's annoying, but also to feel sorry for her because she clearly really likes Piper and it's not her fault she can't fill Alex's place. I hope you still enjoy the story though..Alex will be coming up in the next few chapters.**

 **izzielg - I know, I'm sorry - I have a 2 year old daughter who keeps me busy so if frequent updates are wanted, they're gonna have to be a bit shorter! ^_^ Also, I'm not great at drawing things out, I always rush to get to the good bits, so, even though this isn't gonna be a really long fic, I want it to last a bit longer :) Pc. . ,**

 **honeyjoy888, JessTerr and dillydill11 - thanks for your continued support :) Thank you all for your reviews! Some of you have guessed what's going to happen.**

 **I know you all dislike the concept of Scarlett but I needed to have her in the story to prove a point.**

 **Enjoy and as always, Please review :) Lise xx**

The day of Piper and Scarlett's date had come around fast and Piper woke up to a message from her on her phone. " _Hey, Are you still on for tonight?_ _?_ _xx_ "

Piper smiled and rolled her eyes, she was already starting to see that Scarlett was actually quite needy. She typed out a message back on her phone. " _Yeah, of course, see you at 6 xx"_

Piper grabbed breakfast and headed into work. Nicky was already there setting up the lye and oils.

She looked up when she saw Piper come in. "Ready for your big date tonight?"

"Y'know, Not really."

"Come on Chapman! She is smoking hot. If you don't want her, I'll take her myself."

Piper laughed. "Well, let me get the first date out of the way and I'll let you know how it goes from there."

XXXXXX

6pm had arrived and Piper was waiting for Scarlett to arrive at the apartment. She had chosen a tight fitting black dress and had curled hair hair. She had gained a little bit of weight recently but the curves suited her. She wondered what Alex would think of her with curves. She'd never had them before. When she was with Alex she used to run every day, she was incredibly toned and thin but she lost the passion for running once she got out of prison.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by a knock on the door. She checked her appearance one last time before heading out to meet Scarlett.

"Hey, Woah you look stunning." Scarlett gushed as she kissed Piper on the cheek.

"You don't look too bad yourself!" Piper said, as she looked at Scarlett. She had made a real effort and Piper was not blind, this girl was gorgeous. Her long dark locks hung down past her shoulders. She was wearing a dark blue dress that hugged in all the right places.

Scarlett caught Piper checking her out and Piper could see a smug look wash over her, as if she was mentally praising herself for her choice in dress.

They took a cab to the restaurant Piper had chosen. As they sat down the waiter brought the menu.

"mm, this all looks so nice! – What are you going to order, Piper?"

Piper looked down the menu. "I think I'm gonna go for the yellow curry with rice."

Scarlett nodded. "I'll get the same."

Piper glanced up and smiled.

"So, Have you been busy today?" Piper questioned as she sipped her wine.

"Yeah, We are looking at opening a new branch so I've been in meetings all day with different realtors."

Piper felt like she had to force the conversation and was starting to feel awkward. She coughed and cleared her throat.

"Wow, this wine. I just have to go to the bathroom."

Piper stood and gave her best apologetic smile before striding to the bathroom. Once inside she ran the cold water over her hands and wrists before sighing heavily.

She sat down in a stall and called Nicky. "Nick, Jesus, I'm really struggling here, it's going to shit. I just don't have anything to talk to her about."

"Christ, Piper, you have been in there what, half an hour. Get to know her better, ask about her fuckin dog. I don't know. Make an effort."

"Can we push the drinks forward? Like, so we have to rush this dinner?"

Piper heard the bathroom door swing open.

"I gotta go…"

"Piper? Are you ok?"

Scarlett was standing outside the stall.

Piper inwardly groaned. "Um, Yeah! I just had to pee. I'll be right out."

She flushed the toilet and walked out to see Scarlett standing by the bathroom sinks, she gave her a small smile.

"Look, Piper. If you wanna just call it a night, we can." She walked up to Piper and stood in her personal space. She leant in to Piper's ear.

"Or we can make it interesting."

She had already walked Piper back into the wall so she was effectively trapped.

"You need to loosen up. I think I can help you."

Scarlett grabbed Piper by the hand and pushed her into one of the stalls. Both girls were breathing heavily and Piper was starting to give in to the physical need she was feeling. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine Alex. It wasn't easy but she decided to just go with what was happening to her. Scarlett kissed her passionately, her tongue roaming Piper's mouth. Piper could barely breathe, the last person she had slept with was Alex and she just kept telling herself she needed this, to move on.

She tried to take more control over the situation by hitching Scarlett's dress up. Scarlett gasped at Piper's bold move and took her hand to guide her to where she needed it most. Piper, moaned slightly as her hand met Scarlett's core, much wetter than she had anticipated.

Scarlett came quickly, her head thrown back against the wall of the stall, her mouth forming an O shape. Once she had come down from her high, Piper rested her forehead against hers, both girls breathing heavily. "Can I do you?" Scarlett used the line that Piper had used the first time she had slept with Alex and Piper inwardly groaned that everything reminded her of Alex.

"I think that would be nice but I also think our food is probably on the table getting cold and then we have to meet Nicky.." Piper said, trying to throw Scarlett off. She wasn't ready to let anyone else other than Alex touch her that way.

Piper gave Scarlett a quick kiss and then pulled her out of the stall, quickly fixing her dress and hair before they went back to their table.

XXXXXX

Both girls turned up at the club, Nicky was already waiting with drinks, chatting to some girl who was openly flirting with her. Piper chuckled as she walked over to them with Scarlett close behind her.

"Hey, Chapman, you made it. This is Emma, she's here with a friend who hasn't turned up yet. Hey Scarlett.."

Nicky winked at Scarlett and Scarlett laughed and shook her head.

The mood was light and Piper and Scarlett had a drink before they moved to the dance floor, their bodies swaying and bouncing to the beat of the music. Nicky had joined them and was now dancing with Emma who was still waiting for her friend to arrive. Suddenly Piper noticed Nicky had stopped dancing and was standing completely still, her face a picture of both horror and disbelief. When she followed Nicky's line of vision she too was struck. "Oh Fuck." Piper muttered as she stepped in front of Nicky.

"Nicky, we have to go. Come on, we don't have to do this here…you're just getting better.."

Of course it was too late as Emma had ran towards her friend and dragged her over. "This is my friend, Lorna Morello."

Lorna's face had also gone ashen when she had realised who was standing in front of her. It was quite surreal, actually, like a Litchfield reunion.

Nicky pushed past them all and fled the club. Piper and Lorna both rushed after her, Piper shouting to Scarlett that she was sorry.

"NICKY….. NICK, COME BACK! DON'T RUN YOU NEED TO FACE THIS."

Piper turned to Lorna. "Hey Lorna, It's nice to see you again but I'm gonna have to go and try to calm Nicky down before she does something stupid."

"I'm comin with ya."

"Lorna, I really don't think that's a great idea."

"I don't care, I need to talk to her."

Piper couldn't believe what was happening, she knew Nicky would be freaking out about this. She sighed, ran her hand through her hair, messaged Scarlett that she was sorry she had to leave and then led Lorna home with her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Guys, calm down! It's a fic. I know you don't like Scarlett but she is meant to complicate things further down the line, as you will find out. Please, just enjoy the story and try not to freak out too much. I have Alex appearing soon, (not in this chapter) And it will all be explained by herself. I wanted it to be different from all the other Fics where Alex and Piper meet straight away, I needed this story to have something different to that because it is a real possibility that they could be going to different prisons in the show... I wanted to explore the idea that they could lose touch completely for a very long period of time and still belong together. It's always Vauseman endgame with my fics so don't panic.**

 **I have uploaded the new chapter early because you guys are freaking out so much about it all. - It will be another couple of days before the next chapter, though.**

 **Enjoy, and as always, Please review.**

 **Lise xx**

Piper was sitting at the table with a coffee in her hands. Nicky hadn't emerged from her room yet and Piper didn't know if Lorna was still in there or if she had gone through the night.

She pulled out her phone and saw she had a message from Scarlett. _"Hey, I hope everything is ok, thanks for last night. Xx"_

Before Piper could type a reply, another text came through. _"Maybe we could go on another date… just the two of us? Helene asked if you would email her. xx"_

Piper breathed out and ran her hand through her hair. She really did like Scarlett, she was drop dead gorgeous, she actually looked like Alex which was really odd to Piper. She had a lovely bubbly personality and if Piper hadn't met Alex, Scarlett would have probably been a great girlfriend. At the same time though, Piper didn't want to do anything that could jeopardise the new contract with the large online enterprise Helene worked for. She decided to keep her reply short and sweet. _"hey, sorry about last night, Nicky had some troubles. Look, Scarlett, I think we should talk. Sure, I'll email her "_

Piper opened her laptop and typed out an email to Helene.

 _"_ _Hey Helene,_

 _How are you? Scarlett told me you wanted me to email you about the business. If you need me to email over some information to you, just let me know. Maybe we could go for lunch to discuss everything?_

 _Piper"_

Piper closed her laptop and walked to Nicky's room. She knocked softly on the door and peeked in. Nicky was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey, Are you ok? Whats going on?"

Piper walked over and sat on the edge of Nicky's bed. Reaching out for her hand.

Nicky wiped a stray tear away from her face. "I was just starting to get on with my life. Then she comes running back into it demanding to talk!" Nicky had sat up looking angry.

"I don't know what to do."

Nicky was pacing the room, running her hands through her wild locks like she was in a cage and was trying to determine the best escape route.

"What happened last night?" Piper asked, wondering what had transpired.

"She came in here, sat on the bed and told me she needed to talk. Yeah right! Like that's going to help. Anyway, I told her I didn't want to talk to her, she made her choice and I'd moved on. I wasn't going to be a part of her little back and forth game again. So she ran out of here crying."

"Nicky, do you not want to hear her out? Things obviously didn't work out like we thought they had. I think you need to hear her out."

"I think you need to mind your own business, Chapman."

Nicky left the room, slamming the door and leaving Piper siting on her bed open mouthed.

"NICKY!"

Piper shouted after her but heard the front door slam as Nicky left.

XXXXXX

Piper spent most of the afternoon cleaning. She was midway through scrubbing all the surfaces in the house when her laptop made the email notification noise.

 _"_ _Hi Piper,_

 _Yes, I spoke with the boss, she said she wants to email you about potentially meeting up to discuss the contract. I'm just giving you a heads up. I've actually never seen her do this, she usually doesn't deal with any customers or companies… no one in the company has met her, we just talk over the phone.. She usually silently handles all the important stuff. She's a bit of a mystery, really, Anyway, I'll catch up soon. Let me know how it goes!_

 _Helene"_

Piper's heart started hammering in her chest. She didn't know what to think of the boss wanting to talk to her directly about the company. She didn't know if she was prepared. Jumping up from where she was seated she walked over to the small office and opened up the filing cabinet they kept all the business stuff in. She felt like she needed to buff up on all the numbers so she could be prepared and professional. She decided to tell Nicky about it once she had calmed down.

XXXXXX

Meanwhile on the other side of town, Nicky was waiting for Lorna in a diner. She had gotten Emma's number last night before Lorna had showed up so she just set it up through her.

Nicky stiffened and tried to even out her breathing as Lorna approached her.

"Look, I'll hear you out and then I don't want to hear from you again."

Lorna's face dropped. When Emma had told her Nicky wanted to meet, she had been optimistic about their meeting.

"Nicky, I've missed you so much." Lorna's eyes were filled with tears, she reached out to take Nicky's hand but she pulled it away.

"Yeah, yeah. Has Vinnie left you? Is that why you're here? You want another Mommy for your baby? Well I've got news for ya, I've got mommy issues of my own, I don't need a kid to hate me for corrupting their life."

"No, Nicky that's not it."

"Then what is it, Lorna? Coz I've gotta tell ya, I was doing well for a while there until you've wandered back in."

Lorna looked down at her hands, her expression was sad and downtrodden. Nicky's heart lurched at the sight. It's not that she didn't care about Lorna, it was just that she had put on a front to protect herself from being hurt again.

Nicky instantly wondered what was going on with Lorna, it wasn't like her to go quiet.

"Hey, look, it's just it was hard when you left, y'know. Me and Chapman got moved to another prison. Those were long nights wondering if you were ok. Eventually, I just tried to move on. I figured there was no point wallowing on it when I wasn't the one you ever wanted anyway. I was just convenient."

Lorna looked up. "That's the thing though, you weren't just convenient. I pretended I wanted Vinnie because I wanted that stability. You weren't ready to give me that, you were engrossed in that stupid book list thing you were doing and I was just there when you wanted me. When I got out, I went to the doctor and he couldn't find a heartbeat."

Lorna was now full on blubbering in the middle of the diner and Nicky looked horrified.

"Vinnie said that now he wasn't going to be tied down he was going to grab his dreams and travel the world. I was still on probation, you see, so I couldn't go with him and he told me he would be back in a couple of months. Anyway, it turned out that he met some bitch while he was fruit picking in Australia and they have been together ever since. He didn't come back for me. That's when I realised, when I got past the hurt of the betrayal, he didn't really matter to me. He was a comfort, a hope while I was in Litchfield. Y'know, someone on the outside. You were the one who mattered to me. You were the one I thought of whenever I was hurting or whenever I was lonely."

Nicky shot across the table unexpectedly and captured Lorna's lips with hers. She surprised herself but there was no denying she missed Lorna. Here she was, hoping for another chance, spilling her heart onto the table, so tragically alone.

Lorna pulled back from the kiss, shocked but smiling. This was something they could build on, finally some happiness for both of them.

XXXXXX

Nicky and Lorna walked through the apartment door hand in hand. Piper was sitting on the floor, cross legged and immersed in a pile of Papers. She looked up and then did a double take. Her eyes widened but a slight smile spread across her face.

"You guys sorted things out?"

"We're getting there, Chapman." Nicky ran a hand through her wild locks and looked bewildered at the situation she was in.


	6. Chapter 6

The week after the Lorna incident was spent preparing to be contacted by Helene's boss. Piper was obsessing over being on the ball with figures and timeframes, she was memorising them like lines so she would look like she knew every little detail about her company.

Half way through the week they had decided the office was a complete tip and needed overhauling. They were knee deep in paperwork when Piper decided to grab them coffee and cake. Nicky, of course, wanted her usual chocolate cake. She put on her coat and headed out of the door. The city was really busy and Piper was practically brushing shoulders with people as they bustled around. Finally she got to the café and ordered their usual coffee and cake and then sat down in the window to wait for her order.

Piper loved people watching, she loved to see how every face was so different yet everyone looked so normal. So many different combinations. As Piper was looking through people, she caught a glance of a woman who looked so much like Alex that Piper's hair stood on end, she stopped breathing and her heart stopped beating with the shock. It was just a brief glimpse but Piper was stunned. She felt herself running from the table she had been sitting at and out of the café, across the road to where she had seen the woman but she was no longer there. Piper cursed herself for doing this again. Her mind was playing tricks with her, obviously, this woman had red hair, her hair was shorter than Alex's. Plus, if Alex was in this city, she would know, right? They would have crossed paths by now. She tried to calm her breathing down to a normal level, realising she was almost hyperventilating and calmly crossed the street back to the café. By the time she got her order she realised she was shaking. "Are you ok, miss?" The girl said as she handed Piper her order.

"Yeah, Uh, um, thanks…"

Piper rushed home and burst through the door. As soon as she saw Nicky she burst out crying.

Nicky jumped up from her place on the floor in the office and rushed over to Piper. "Piper? What's wrong?"

When Piper had stopped crying enough to form a sentence she sat down on the floor with the coffee.

"I thought I saw Alex, across the street from the café. I totally freaked out, I ran across the street to where she had been. I honestly thought it was her, Nicky. I must be delusional or something, this woman had red hair and it was shorter than Alex's and I still almost got myself killed running across the road to get to her. I don't know why I'm like this! I'm so stupid! I'm so stupid!"

Piper was hyperventilating again and Nicky moved to put her arm around her. "Hey, hey, it will be ok. It will get better, honestly. It will all work out."

"I mean, she probably didn't even look like Alex but my brain just told me she did and I went crazy. I've got to stop this, Nicky, I can't live like this for the rest of my life!"

"I know. Maybe you should go to therapy.."

Piper looked up from her coffee. "You know, I might try that."

Just as she was about to speak again, the email notification sound rang out from her laptop. They both glanced at each other nervously. Piper walked over to her laptop and opened the email.

 _"_ _Hi,_

 _My employee, Helene, has been in contact with you about possibly gaining a contract for distribution of your products. Could you give me the numbers of each product you have sold so far, any information you think I would need to know about your company would be great, too. I like to get to know companies well before we take them on. Helene seems very keen so I would like to know more. I usually work from home but we could set up a meeting face to face at some stage if you would like?_

 _Regards,_

 _Elizabeth Suave_

 _Suave Enterprises"_

Piper squealed, she felt like they were finally going to go big with their company. Her Mom had loosened up a lot since Piper had gone to prison and their relationship had improved a great deal since she had been released and Piper couldn't help but feel excited that her Mom might actually be proud of something she had done for once.

She instantly composed a reply to Elizabeth and Attached the forms with the requested information.

 _"_ _Miss Suave,_

 _I have attached the documentation you requested. Should you require anything else, please do not hesitate to contact myself or my business partner. I would love to set up a meeting, let me know when and where and I will be there._

 _Regards,_

 _Piper Chapman_

 _Picnic Bath and Body."_

Nicky laughed and shook her head at how formal Piper had gone with the email. She just really wanted to secure this and wanted to appear as professional as possible.

Almost immediately, another email came through.

 _"_ _1pm, Friday, 124 Ridges Avenue."_

Piper looked at Nicky. Something seemed weird about this whole thing and Piper didn't really know what to think of it all. The return email had come too quick.

Piper and Nicky had continued to tidy the office for the remainder of the afternoon. Nicky was taking Lorna out for dinner and Piper had plans to call for a takeout and watch Netflix.

Her phone buzzed, the screen lighting up to reveal a text from Scarlett. _"Hey Piper, are you busy tonight? I was wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner? My treat xx"_

Piper sighed, the last thing she wanted was to have Scarlett making heart eyes at her all night when all she wanted to do was have a bubble bath, eat some junk food and have an early night.

 _"_ _Hey Scar, I'm just planning an early night, I think work is catching up to me."_ Piper paused before she hit send, she felt guilty for blowing Scarlett off again. She decided she would try to be friends with Scarlett more than anything else but she knew this would be hard given Scarlett's obvious needy personality.

She finished off the message. _"But I'm gonna order Chinese takeaway, if you like it, you're more than welcome to come and share some."_

Scarlett replied straight away. _"Sure, I'll pick some up on my way over, see you soon."_

Scarlett arrived an hour later with a bottle of wine and the Chinese food.

"Hey, I hope you're hungry, I think I got a bit much." Piper chuckled, kissing her on the cheek as a friendly greeting, before taking the bags from her. The night wasn't as bad as Piper expected, Scarlett didn't push anything. The conversation came surprisingly easy and as the night drew to an end Scarlett announced she had to work early in the morning. As they were saying their goodbyes, Scarlett turned to Piper. "Thank you for tonight, Pipes. It's been nice, we should do it again." Piper tensed at Scarlett using the nickname Alex always used.

"Uh, Yeah! We should!" Piper gave Scarlett a quick hug before she left.

Piper let out a sigh of relief as the door closed. She kept shaking her head trying to stop the constant torture of wondering about Alex. She could pretend she didn't care but in fact, it was all she did care about. She only cared about Alex. Constantly worrying if she was safe and what she was doing. Missing her touch, her scent, her sarcasm. Everything about her. At least Scarlett hadn't been too pushy tonight. Piper grabbed some products and went to the bathroom to run herself a hot bath, she was excited and nervous about the meeting on Friday and hoped it would all go well.

 **Hey guys, here's the new chapter! Does anyone have anything they particularly want to see happen in a Vauseman fic? I'm still writing so I can incorporate what you guys want. anyway, Enjoy and as always, Please review.**

 **Lise xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**The chapter you have all been waiting for. All is revealed.**

 **Enjoy and as always, Please review.**

 **Lise xx**

Friday had rolled around quickly and Nicky had to cancel due to her AA meeting, she couldn't miss it if she wanted to stay sober so she attended every single one no matter what was happening.

Piper was initially anxious about going to meet the boss by herself but she felt prepared enough. She had gone shopping for a new outfit with Lorna who was now paying frequent visits to the apartment, much to Nicky's delight. Things were going really well for them.

Piper felt the anxiety creeping back as she approached the large house. She couldn't shake this weird feeling she had and she didn't know what it was. She knocked on the door and stood waiting for it to be answered, bobbing slightly from foot to foot, nervously.

Then the door opened, Piper, still looking down at the papers began to introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Piper Chapma…" When she looked up she lost her voice, it felt like someone had their hand around her throat, she tried to speak again but her head was spinning. In front of her was Alex, her hair was shoulder length and red, she was still just as gorgeous as Piper remembered. It all came crashing down on Piper at once, she tried to breathe but she couldn't take a proper breath, looking to the side, everything went black and she felt herself falling.

XXXXXX

When Piper came around she was lying on a really large antique looking couch. She looked to her side and saw Alex sitting in a chair, looking at her, a worried expression on her face. Piper jumped up from the couch and ran at her, they collided with force, almost knocking the chair backwards. Piper was sobbing uncontrollably, she didn't know what to do with all of the emotions she was feeling. She definitely wanted to know what was going on but for now she was just completely overwhelmed with having Alex in her arms at last. She put her face into her hair and inhaled Alex's scent. Piper could feel Alex's own tears settling on her shoulder. Alex pulled back and kissed her. Piper didn't understand anything that was happening to her right now. She wiped her face on her shirt sleeve leaving a makeup smudge down it.

"Alex? I-I don't know wh-what's happening..are you even real?" Piper sobbed.

"Piper, there's so much I have to tell you. Please, calm down baby, I'm here now."

Alex brushed her thumb across Piper's cheek and looked into her eyes.

"I'm meant to be meeting someone here…" Piper stated as she hoped to god it wasn't Alex's new girlfriend.

"Elizabeth, right?" Alex looked at Piper who looked more confused than Alex had ever seen her.

"I don't know what's going on… I feel like I'm about to wake up any second..."

"Piper. I'm in witness protection. Kubra saw from the video that I wasn't dead. He sent someone else to kill me. It was working until one of the other guards came in and saw him strangling me. There was a meeting about safety and they decided to put me under witness protection, I was due for release anyway. I had no job, I had nothing, Pipes, They told me I had to leave everyone I knew for their own safety and build a new life. I tried to look for you but they kept telling me not to, every time I got close they would find out. Eventually I decided to wait until I was off probation and then look for you. I didn't know what to do, the first few months were awful, I had nothing, no job or anything, the only money I had was the money I had saved from the cartel and I didn't want to squander it. I met this guy who was really, really fucking good with computers. He helped me set up an online store- I ploughed a lot of money into it and since I'm so good at importing and exporting large amounts of heroin, I was also pretty good at importing and exporting goods. Like, antiques and all sorts of things and I'm making a fortune off it… I've been a silent boss, none of my employees have met me, just in case, y'know… and because I've been under my witness protection name, no one's suspected a thing."

Piper's mouth hung open. She couldn't quite believe what she just heard. Not only had Alex tried to look for her, she had also made an absolute fortune in the process.

Piper pulled her close and buried her head in the crook of Alex's neck. "Al, I thought I was never going to see you again. I've been a mess. Nicky told me I should go to therapy."

Alex laughed a little. "Nicky? as in Nicky Nicholls?"

"Yeah, we live together now, she's my partner in the soap business."

Piper looked at Alex. "Is that why you wanted to meet about the business?"

"Well, at first, I really didn't know it was your business, I was following it because it was doing well with growth, then Helene called and said she had met someone from the company called Piper. I did a little digging and found out it was you. Pipes, I didn't know what you were doing with your life now, if you had moved on. So I tried to tread carefully, also, I can't tell you over an email who I really am, so that's why I set up the 'business meeting' …"

"Oh my god, Al, I can't believe I've finally got you back. I can't live without you, you have no idea."

Alex took off her glasses and moved them to the top of her head. "Are you ok? What's been going on since we have been apart?"

"I got released, Nicky got released a few months after me, Polly had no interest in Popi anymore so she signed it all over to me. Since there's not many jobs around for Ex-cons, I asked Nicky if she wanted to learn the ropes and it just went from there. We got an apartment together. She goes to AA meetings every week so that's why I didn't bring her here today. She helped me look for you but we just kept coming up with nothing. So she told me to get with someone else to get over you, but I never could."

"So you haven't been with anyone in the past 3 years?"

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean not exactly?"

"I've been going on dates with a girl called Scarlett, but it's just more out of obligation, Alex, I swear. We have only been on a few dates, one got a bit more heated than I'd have liked but I just keep avoiding it now and hoping it will fizzle out. She's pretty persistent."

Alex was frowning at what Piper had just said. "Ok, I mean, I guess I couldn't expect you to wait all that time.."

"No, Alex, I haven't ever gotten over you, it was Nicky's idea for me to go out with Scarlett. I didn't know where you were. I guess I'd just given up hope."

Piper was still sitting in Alex's lap, playing idly with her fingers, she didn't quite know what to do. She didn't know what was next for them.

Alex and Piper sat embracing each other for a while until Piper's phone sang out.

"Hey, Nicky." Piper glanced at Alex.

"Yeah the meeting went well, I'm here with Al…Elizabeth now, actually."

"Yeah, actually I was just gonna um, pick something up for dinner while I was out, so um, I won't be home yet…"

"Yeah, I won't be too late… see you later."

Alex raised her eyebrow at Piper who had a small smile on her face.

"I can't go home yet, Al. I just got you back."

Alex chuckled. "Guess I'll have my butler make us something for dinner then."

Piper's mouth fell open in disbelief before she realised Alex was kidding. She slapped her on the arm as they laughed together. An air of seriousness surrounded Piper before she voiced her concern.

"Where do we go from here? I mean, I'm not supposed to know you are in witness protection, so where does that leave us? Do you want to be back together with me. Are we even still engaged?"

Piper realised her mouth had ran away with itself again.

"Piper, slow down, you've only been here a couple of hours. Look, it's a lot to take in, I know that. God, it's a lot for me to take in too. But I've built a good future for us here, I only ever had you in mind every time the business grew. All I could think about was that I would be able to take care of you when I found you. Eventually you will be with me but for now I have to figure out how we're gonna do this without blowing my cover."

Piper's phone lit up with a text from Scarlett. _"Hey, Did you want to grab dinner on Friday? I've found this cute little indian restaurant that does amazing food. Let me know xx"_

"Oh, crap."

"What, Piper, what is it?"

"That was Scarlett, the girl I've been 'seeing' she wanted to know if I wanted to go to dinner on Friday."

Alex visibly tensed at this. "Are you going?"

"Of course I'm not going, Alex. She knows about you, I told her I'm not over you. I just don't know what I can say because she knows you are called Alex, she accidentally saw a photo of you…and she's best friends with Helene who thinks you are Elizabeth. This could be a huge problem."

Alex frowned. This was going to be way more complicated than she had anticipated.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey, Nicky, I'm home." Piper bounced into the apartment with a goofy grin on her face and found herself staring at Nicky and Lorna who were swiftly trying to get their clothes back on.

"Oh my god.." Piper tried to avert her eyes, not that she hadn't seen it all before.

"Hey, Piper!" Lorna called out as she smoothed out her hair.

Nicky came rushing over to her. "How did the meeting go? Was she a stuck up bitch? Jesus, with all that money she must be. I'm sorry I couldn't be there."

Piper smirked. "Actually she was really nice! We ended up having dinner. She seems keen, anyway, so, I think we have it in the bag. How did your day go?" Piper tried to divert the conversation.

"Well, as you could see before, it was going well. Whats up with you anyway, Chapman, you look different. I don't know what it is, there's just something different about you."

"I've just had a good day, I'm really excited about that contract."

It suddenly dawned on Nicky. "Oh my god, was boss lady hot? You have a crush don't you?"

"No, no, I mean, yes she was hot."

"I knew it!"

"So, How're you gonna tell Scarlett that your bit on the side is a millionaire?"

"Shut up, Nicky. It's not like that. Plus, I'm not actually with Scarlett."

"Oh? Isn't it? Because you came in here looking all dopey and I'm supposed to pretend that you didn't like her?"

"Yes, that's exactly what you're supposed to do."

Nicky held her hands out in mock surrender, her eyebrows raised. "ok, ok, Chapman, but don't expect me to skip out on the next meeting, I need to see if this chick is as hot as you think."

Piper rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone as she walked to her room, she decided to text Alex.

 _"_ _Hey, Nicky's been quizzing me about the meeting all day. She thinks I have a crush on you. She said there's no way she's skipping the next meeting, she has to see if you're as hot as my face makes out."_

Piper's phone lit up with a response five minutes later.

 _"_ _And do you?"_

Piper couldn't help but roll her eyes. She'd never changed, still mocking Piper endlessly.

 _"_ _I mean, I guess so, I think we will have to have another meeting so I can check. – what are we going to do about Nicky?"_

 _"_ _Keep it from her for now, I'll do some thinking. I guess our next meeting will have to be over dinner, your soap fragrances make me terribly hungry, Miss Chapman."_

Piper grinned to herself as she read the message. She loved the fact she would be eating dinner with Alex again tomorrow.

Xxxxxx

Piper and Nicky were having a busy week, it was the lead up to Christmas and their sales in their own little store had tripled. Piper knew they definitely needed to hire another person. She was frustrated at not being able to see Alex again yet. Every time they arranged to meet, something would come up and either Piper or Alex would have to cancel. They were both so grateful to have each other back that the plans didn't phase them too much. Today was different, however, and Piper was feeling the pull.

"Nick, do you want to go grab us some lunch while it's quiet in here? I'm starving but I really have to sort out interviews and stuff."

"Yeaahh, Interviews, right. When are you having another interview with hot boss lady?" Nicky queried, making Piper roll her eyes.

"Caesar Salad, thanks. From Schnitzel Palace." Piper said, ignoring Nicky's jabs at her.

"Oh, man, really Piper? All the way over the other side of town?"

"They do good croutons on it! It's essential, it has to be Schnitzel Palace."

Nicky groaned as she pushed open the door and entered the cold. Piper smirked to herself, knowing she had bought herself some time to call Alex.

She let the phone ring until it went to voicemail. _"Hey, uh, Elizabeth. I tried to call but you probably already knew that. Uh, maybe call me back when you get time? I've missed you. Oh this is Piper, by the way… but you probably knew that too. Ok. Uh, bye."_

Piper ran her hand through her hair, she couldn't believe how flustered Alex made her even after all this time, after all they had been through.

XXXXXX

Nicky wandered lazily into the café, it was new, she could still smell the fresh paint. The place was decked out in wood, green leafy plants and hanging lights. It looked really nice. She placed their lunch order and then turned around to sit down when someone caught her eye. She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes impossibly wide. Piper had been right, there was a woman with red hair who looked exactly like Alex. She was passing by the front of the café and then turned and crossed the road before Nicky could get out of the doors. She yelled as loud as she could. "ALEX?!" The woman looked as if she turned slightly to look but then changed her mind at the last moment, as if something had stopped her.

Nicky couldn't believe it. She didn't know if she should tell Piper. Whether she should dredge it up when she seemed to be doing so well lately.

Walking back to the apartment Nicky decided she would tell Piper she wasn't crazy and that she saw someone who looked scary like Alex but it couldn't have been her.

XXXXX

Piper was still going through paperwork when Nicky walked back through the door. Everything about her mood had changed and Piper wondered what had happened while she had been out.

"Hey, is it busy out there? – thanks, I'm starving!" Piper said, taking her salad box from Nicky and setting it down on the table in front of her.

"Look, Piper, I gotta tell you something.. I just don't want ya freaking out, I just want you to know you're not as fucking stark raving bonkers as I first thought."

Piper was looking at Nicky expectantly. Her heart was pounding at what Nicky might say…

"I saw that woman you were talking about today, the one who looked exactly like Vause. I've gotta tell you, I've never seen anyone look as much like anyone. I mean, did Vause dye her hair?"

Piper blushed, her mouth hanging open. "Um, I mean, I don't know."

"What you were with her for years and you don't know if she dyed her hair? Did the carpet match the drapes?"

Piper scrunched her face up. "I'm not discussing what may have been in my ex fiance's pants with you."

"Ok, have it your way… on a more serious note I honestly think we should look into it more, Piper."

"Yeah, maybe, but right now we have to do this!" Piper said, gesturing towards the large pile of papers in front of her."

XXXXXX

Piper had finally managed to break free from work before 7pm, it was a miracle.

She had decided to call in to Alex's place and even if Alex was working, she would still be able to see her at least.

As she approached the door she could feel her heart rate increase and her breathing pick up. She rolled her eyes at herself that Alex could get her like this even after all this time.

"AL? You in?" Piper shouted, knocking on the door.

Alex appeared at the door, her hair wet from the shower she must have been in the middle of.

"Oh, sorry, were you showering? I was thinking we could grab takeout later?" Piper said with a sheepish grin on her face as she walked in. She couldn't help her eyes as they wandered down Alex's towel clad frame.

Alex smirked as she caught on. "You know, if you took a picture, it would last longer."

Piper blushed and smiled in response. Alex pulled her in closer. "C'mere." Alex husked as she leant in to kiss Piper. Before long, things had gotten heated and Piper had undone Alex's towel, letting it slip away from her body. She stood back and marvelled at how Alex hadn't changed a bit. Alex pulled her back in and started removing her clothes. When they were both naked, Alex picked Piper up, her legs wrapped around her torso and carried her up the stairs to her bedroom. Piper's eyes widened as she took in the sight. "Jesus, this is a bit of a difference to Litchfield…"

The walls were a plum colour and the bedsheets, as Piper noted, were patterned and luxurious as she was laid down onto them. There was only a couple of books laid on a giant antique ottoman that lay at the foot of the bed, which Piper found odd, considering Alex's love of books.

Alex was kissing down her body and Piper's senses were in overdrive as everything familiary about Alex came flooding back. She knew her, she knew her body, what got her going. Piper was loving every second of it.

"Oh, fuck, Al!" She moaned as Alex wrapped her mouth around her perfectly taut nipple.

Alex made her way down Piper's body and slipped beneath the sheets. Piper yelled out as Alex's mouth made contact with her core.

It didn't take long before Piper was coming undone under Alex's command, gasping and shuddering as her orgasm gripped her body.

Alex slowly made her way back up Piper's body, planting kisses here and there as she did so. When she got to Piper's face she noticed she was crying.

"Pipes? What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

Piper grasped Alex and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I've missed you so much, Al. I honestly didn't think I was gonna see you or get you back."

"Shhh, shh, it's ok, I'm here now. Piper, you have to understand, I had to wait, I didn't have a choice."

Piper nodded her head and sniffled as she cried into Alex's shoulder. "I don't ever want to lose you again. It hurt's too much. When I proposed to you, what I said was true. You really do make life hurt less for me, Al."

Alex smiled as she removed Piper back to look into her eyes. "And you won't, I promise. One step at a time."

 **Hey guys, we finally have the internet connected! Hurray!**

 **Hope you all enjoy,**

 **as always, please review,**

 **Lise xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys, I hope you are still enjoying the story. Thank you for you're support!**

 **rishtaker; You just made a good point, I totally forgot that Nicky had sex with Alex. Anyway, since it was fully clothed and behind a giant board can we just assume she didn't get a good look? *Shifts eyes* hahaha, ok, so just pretend I didn't mess up!**

 **Also, I made a little reference to Laura Prepon's latest insta post. She looks super, super tired. I've been there. I hope she's ok.**

 **Anyway, here you go! As always, please review.**

 **Lise xx**

It was 11pm and Piper hadn't bothered to go home, she had messaged Nicky to let her know she wouldn't be home and was fully prepared for the barrage of questions when she returned home, right now she laying in the dark, on her side. Alex was lying beside her asleep and the moonlight flowing in through the window was illuminating her face and making her look paler than normal. Piper couldn't take her eyes off her.

"You do know its not polite to stare, right?"

Piper jumped slightly and then smiled. "I know but I just can't help it, you're so beautiful and I don't want to let you out of my sight."

Alex pulled Piper closer and kissed her head. "I don't ever wanna be without you again, Pipes. From here on out its just us. We just have to figure out how to put it all together without jeopardising my new identity. I want to be with you, I want to be married to you, I want babies with you. We just have to take it slow for the moment so that we get it right."

Piper smiled. "Babies?"

"Yeah, I can see myself cooking broth with no makeup on while I'm looking after our little girl."

"Woah, you have thought about that, huh?"

"I have. I love you, Piper. I just want things to be normal. I want things to be smooth for us for once. Our whole relationship was hectic, with the cartel and then Litchfield. We deserve to just be normal. I'm tired of drama. I've made a fortune, literally, from the business. I have legal money that we can do anything we want with. We don't have to watch our backs constantly or worry about drug lords trying to kill us. We can just lead normal lives. I mean once I told you that you couldn't nest with me, that you could choose between that or being on a beach in Cambodia with strangers in drag. That's not what I want anymore. I just want to settle. Diane would have wanted me to settle."

Piper brushed Alex's cheek with her thumb. "I'm so proud of you, Al. You have come so far."

"What are we gonna do about Nicky? She saw you, yknow?"

"What? She saw me? Where?" Alex questioned, her eyes wide.

"You were crossing the road outside of Schnitzel Palace, I don't think she would have noticed you had I not seen you before we met."

"You saw me too?"

"Yeah, I was grabbing lunch and I saw you for about two seconds in the street. I went home to Nicky and cried."

"I guess my red hair doesn't do the trick then, huh."

"Well Nicky was asking if you dye your hair black, I wouldn't tell her."

"Yeah well it feels good to be back to my natural colour. I got sick of dying it. I thought it suited."

"Why did you choose the name Elizabeth?"

"Well they gave me a list of names to choose. Elizabeth being your middle name, it made me closer to you and I thought if I ever found you, you could still call me Al. People would just think you were calling me El. And the last name, I put to them. I didn't wanna stray too far away from Vause. I mean, that's Diane's name and all I had left of her. They took some convincing but eventually they let me. So that's my new name. Purely formality, I'm still Al."

"I love your new style. It really suits you and the name choice was so thoughtful."

"I think, I'm probably gonna have to tell Nicky and Lorna about everything…"

"I mean, I think they would probably find out at some point anyway, I think hiding your identity from Scarlett and Helene is going to be the hard part."

"I don't want Helene to find out who I am, I need to stay a silent boss. You're gonna have to cut all contact with Scarlett and we have to swear Nicky and Lorna to secrecy."

XXXXXX

Piper and Alex had planned to tell Nicky and Lorna by inviting them to a business meeting. Piper had promised to break contact with Scarlett and had invited her to lunch at a cafe in town. She had arrived ten minutes early and was sitting sipping hot chocolate, waiting for Scarlett to arrive. She had planned she was going to tell Scarlett she really needed to focus on the business.

Scarlett approached the table and sat down in front of Piper who looked up sheepishly, trying to judge Scarlett's mood. She was smiling brightly at her.

"Piper, It's been too long! Where have you been?" She reached over to take Pipers hand.

"Yeah, things have been really hectic with Nicky and everything. Actually that's part of the reason I've asked you here.."

Scarlett was looking expectantly at Piper to continue, Piper removed her hand from Scarlett's and picked up her mug.

'Well, uh, you know how we have been expanding the business? Well things are going really well and I think I just want to focus on that for the time being… So I, uh, don't want to start anything romantically, y'know?" Piper slowly looked up to assess the damage, she saw a hint of disappointment flash across Scarlett's eyes before a small smile appeared on her face.

"Piper, I totally understand but I think we have something special. I don't think we should just throw it away just because you're busy. I know you're busy, that's why I've been giving you the space you need."

"No, Scarlett, look, I really appreciate it, I do… but I just don't want a relationship or anything romantic at the moment. I've done a lot of thinking about this."

Suddenly Scarlett's face changed. "Oh my god, did you hear from her? Your ex?"

"What? No! I just don't want to lead you on, Scarlett, you deserve to be with someone who treats you well and loves you. I'm not the one for you. I'm sorry."

Scarlett had her eyebrow raised suspiciously, she put her hands up as if in surrender. "Ok, ok. So be it, I tried. I'm sorry to have forced you into all of this, Piper. If you haven't already, I hope you find your ex, otherwise you're going to live a very lonely and sad life."

Scarlett's eyes were filled with tears and Piper could see she was angry. She stood up and stormed out of the café. She was greeted by a man who put his arm on hers to stop her.

"I saw you having an argument and wondered if I could help…" He flashed her a small bag of cocaine and smiled at her expectantly.

"No thanks. I don't do that kind of stuff." Scarlett said, glancing back into the café where she could see Piper

"Okay, I just thought I'd offer since I saw what happened in the café."

"I actually wanted to have a chat to you about the girl you just left, if you are willing to talk to me, my boss will reward you, big time."

"Your boss? How do you know Piper?"

"Ah so it is Piper. I thought it might have been, my name is Edwardo. My boss is waiting to talk to you in that car over there, his name is Kubra. We just want to talk for five minutes and as I said before, he will give you a huge reward if you can help us."

Scarlett nodded, feeling like she had nothing left to lose anyway she followed Edwardo to the car. Inside, Kubra was sitting in between two bodyguards. He smiled at Scarlett as she sat in the seat opposite him.

"Thank you for agreeing to talk to me, Scarlett." Scarlett's eyes widened as she realised she hadn't told Edwardo her name.

"There's no need to be afraid, I just wanted to talk to you about the girl you just left in the café. Piper, right?"

Scarlett nodded.

"Do you know if she has contact with an Alex Vause?"

"No, she hasn't seen her for years. She's still hung up about her, that's why we just broke up."

Kubra looked at her sympathetically. "Are you sure she hasn't had contact?"

"I am. She hasn't seen her for three years. She just disappeared, apparently."

Kubra sighed. "Here, take this for the information but if I find out you have been lying to me, Scarlett, things won't be pretty."

Kubra raised his eyebrows as he handed Scarlett a brown envelope. She was then escorted out of the car by Edwardo and was left standing in the street with only her bag and the brown paper bag. When she opened it she gasped. Inside was $10,000 in $100 bills.

XXXXXX

 _"_ _It's done. I told her I didn't want to see her. Al, I'm too scared to leave the café. She got into a car with a man who looked so familiar that I just watched for a while and when he opened the car door I got a glimpse of Kubra. I think the cartel is watching me. I don't know what to do."_

Within seconds Piper's phone was ringing. "Pipes? What the fuck? Are you ok? Where are you?" Alex sounded panicked.

"I'm still in the café. Look, I think I better call Nicky and get a cab back with her, maybe we can get dropped off at Lorna's and meet you there? I'll message you the address."

"Ok, um, well I guess we're doing this sooner than I expected. Keep messaging me so I know you're ok. I love you, Pipes."

"I will, Al, I love you too."

XXXXXX

Nicky, Lorna and Piper were all sitting in Lorna's small lounge room. Piper was shifting anxiously.

"So, Piper, are you gonna tell us what's going on or are we just gonna watch you squirm for the rest of the night?" Nicky asked, sitting forward and putting her elbows on her knees.

"Yeah, um, well there's something I've kept from you for the past few weeks but now I have no choice but to tell you because something dangerous is happening."

Lorna gasped. "Dangerous? Piper, what is it?"

Just as Lorna finished speaking there was a knock at the door and Piper glanced at them both before standing and walking across the room.

The door opened and both Nicky and Lorna sat there with their mouths open.

"Vause?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, Life is crazy at the moment, the end of this chapter was a little bit shorter than I wanted originally but it was just taking me too long to get out, so this is what it is.**

 **Enjoy, as always, please review. I hope everyone involved with the fires is ok and you are all in my prayers.**

 **Lise xx**

"Vause?"

Nicky's face was a mix of complete shock and confusion. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"Hey Nicholls." Alex said, warily. "Hey, Lorna."

"What the fuck!" Nicky was half laughing, her eyes open wide and a mad confused smile on her face. (Much like the time in the cornfield)

"I can explain… I need you both to sit down, we've got a situation."

Piper was sitting next to Alex on the sofa and Lorna and Nicky were sitting on the other couch facing them, a small coffee table in the middle.

Alex spoke first. "First of all, I wanted you both to know that I've been trying to get back to you guys for the entire time I've been away but I wasn't allowed to. I was taken into witness protection after Kubra saw the Piscatella video and realised I wasn't dead. They decided to let me out a bit early as long as I took on a new identity and lived by their rules until my probation was over, even then, I had to swear that I wouldn't blow my cover, for my own safety and for Piper's. They wouldn't let me see her, they said it was too risky. Anyway, I took on my new identity and when my probation was over I started to look for Piper again."

"Jesus, fuck. Vause, witness protection? So where have you been this whole time? Right under our noses? I mean, I gotta tell ya, blondie over here has been struggling without you."

"Yes, I know she has! But what was I meant to do, Nicky? They wouldn't let me talk to her! I've been on the outskirts of the city. I told them I didn't want to move. Anyway, they said I should make some changes to the way I look. So I did, as you can see."

"So, Piper, redhead Vause was the real deal after all. Wait… how did you find her?"

"Elizabeth Suave. She's the boss lady."

"Holy fuck! I knew it! I knew there was something about that whole thing!"

"I know you did. We were gonna tell you but now it's essential that we do. The cartel are watching Piper. She just saw Scarlett get into a car with them, Kubra was in the back. This is incredibly dangerous. We need to go back to the police. In the meantime, I'm gonna take Piper back to mine, no one knows where that is – I'm gonna have a car pick us up and then she's staying in until the police decide the best course of action."

"Ok… So where does this leave the business?"

"Piper will be working from home.." Alex glanced at Piper as she used the word home and saw her eyes widen slightly.

"I'm gonna get her a new phone and a new number, that way, if they have put a track on this one, they won't be able to get to her. Pipes, you can get all your stuff off and then that thing is going in the river. Nicky, this will just be for a few weeks until we know everything is safe."

"It's alright saying that, Vause. But what happens if they know where we live. Doesn't that mean all our safety is compromised?"

"Well, yeah, look, they want me, so if they think Piper hasn't seen me in a long time they will eventually leave her alone. They won't want anything from you guys, if they do come around, tell them Piper has gone on holiday to see her parents or something. If they ask about me, you haven't seen me since Litch."

Piper looked at Nicky trying to figure out what was going through her mind.

"It's just for a few weeks, I'll message you and it will all be fine."

Alex and Piper both stood and Nicky and Lorna followed.

"Well, guys keep safe. Piper, stay with Vause, don't go trying to leave that house."

They hugged and then Piper and Alex made their way to their car.

On the way, Alex called the detective who had been dealing with her case.

"Hi, Sharon? It's Elizabeth Suave here, um, there's been a bit of an incident and I really need to talk to you. Is now a good time?"

"Hi, Elizabeth, don't talk over the phone, I'll head over to your place right away."

Alex hung up and looked at Piper. "Sharon is gonna come to the house. We'll have time to get your bag put upstairs and then she will likely be here, she doesn't mess around."

XXXXXX

Once the girls had gotten back to Alex's house, sure enough, Piper had just placed her bag down in the bedroom when there was a knock at the door.

Piper was seated on the couch already when Alex led Sharon into the lounge room, she paused slightly when she saw Piper sitting there. She didn't look how Piper had imagined her to and it made Piper uncomfortable. Sharon looked to be in her early 30s. Her hair was blonde and slightly curled, she had on a smart grey suit and black heels, her face was fully made up but not over done. She looked like she had just stepped out of a catalogue.

"Sharon, this is Piper."

Sharon smiled curtly and looked at Alex. "Alex, I thought we spoke about this months ago."

"I know Sharon but I wasn't about to live a life without her. Anyway, we're gonna have to come up with a plan because the Cartel have been watching her."

Sharon ran her fingers through her hair and breathed out through her nose.

Piper instantly felt uneasy about everything.

"I honestly don't think you know what you have done.."

"If it's any consolation I'm willing to do anything you need me to so that Alex will be safe."

"Well, for a start, try calling her Elizabeth. Also, if you just didn't see her, that would make everyone's lives a whole lot easier."

Piper turned to Alex who seemed to be stunned into silence.

"Is she always this professional?" Piper asked sarcastically.

"Can everyone just chill out for a moment? Sharon! I don't need sarcasm here, I know how it is. You knew I was going to look for Piper after my probation, regardless of what you all said."

"What I don't think you grasp here, is how hard everyone has worked to keep you safe and you have just gone and bounced straight back into your old life to reclaim an ex. So, you're now wondering what we can do to throw the cartel off Piper, right?"

Piper had had enough of listening to this woman talk, detective or not. She stood up from the couch and approached Sharon.

"Listen, smartass, are you gonna help her or lecture her? I knew her mother, she was the best, Alex sure as hell doesn't need someone else trying to mother her so why don't you just back off and do your job. Professionally."

Alex looked from Sharon to Piper, not expecting Piper to be so bold. Sharon blinked a couple of times before she turned around and paced out.

"I need to make some calls. Don't leave the house."

And with that, she was out.

XXXXXX

Once Sharon had left, Piper turned to Alex who was still standing taking everything in.

"Al, Please tell me you didn't sleep with her?"

"Piper, look , it was one time! She was the only one who knew who I really was. It was really lonely. I had a lapse in judgement and she's literally been on my case ever since."

"Oh my god! I knew it! I knew there was something up with her as soon as she laid eyes on me."

"Look, Piper, don't go getting all high and mighty over this. It was one time in three years. You dated someone else!"

"I'm not getting into this with you right now."

Sharon came back in just as the girls were sitting down to a cup of hot chocolate.

"I called Jeff. He said for your safety and Piper's we are going to put police presence outside of the house 24/7 until I'm notified further. We are going to call Scarlett in for questioning, I doubt she will be of any use now they have gotten the information they wanted out of her but we might potentially get some information out of her that might be useful. I'm also going to get security put around Piper's apartment so her friends will be safer than they are now. Don't leave the house, online shopping would be best for now, anything else, we can get for you. Um, Well, do you have any questions?"

Piper and Alex were both listening intently to what Sharon had to say.

"How long will this be for? I mean, the no leaving thing." Piper asked anxiously, glancing at Alex.

"Until I'm notified, it will take us about a week to complete the procedures. I know this is difficult but you guys brought this on yourself." She glanced at Alex with an angry face before turning.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going. Alex has my number, if you have any questions. I'll be back tomorrow to check on everything."

Sharon left and Piper glanced at Alex.

"I'm sorry about before. Let's have lunch and watch movies?"

Alex smiled. "Sure, but you can cook, I need to finish up Suave stuff for the day, it will take me about 20 minutes, then I'll be free to do whatever you want."


	11. Chapter 11

Piper had made some oven baked chicken and roasted vegetables for dinner. Alex was starving by the time she had finished her work.

"This looks delicious, Pipes. Thanks!" Alex said, in between mouthfuls of vegetables.

"No worries, I think I actually deserve one of your amazing shoulder rubs for this work of art."

Alex let out a hearty laugh and threw her head back.

"Yeah, you got me…"

Piper let Alex finish her dinner and then took the plates to the kitchen and placed them on the side.

"I think the washing up can wait until in the morning.. don't you?" She trailed her hands along Alex's shoulders as she walked past and Alex involuntarily closed her eyes at the touch.

She stood from the chair and led Piper into the bedroom. "I think you deserve to have a lot more than your neck rubbed after such a fine meal. Dontcha think?" Alex raised an eyebrow in question.

Piper broke out into a full on grin. "I think that would be nice."

Both girls rolled onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. Alex rolled them both over so she was straddling Piper, removing her top as she sat up. Piper let out an involuntary moan as she witnessed the action. "Fuck, I've missed you so much."

Alex pinned Piper's hands above her head as she assaulted her neck and chest with her mouth.

Piper groaned in anticipation, raw emotion taking over. Before long Alex was tugging Piper out of her underwear and revelling in their skin sliding together, a mix of sweat and pleasure.

It didn't take long before Alex's talented tongue was bringing Piper to the peak of her pleasure. Alex could feel her body shuddering as she came down from her high. She climbed back up Pipers body only to find her wracked with sobs.

"Hey! hey, baby, what's wrong? Did I hurt you?" Alex wrapped Piper up in her arms, concerned.

"No, It's just I didn't think this would be happening again. I didn't think I would find you, Al. Just being close to you is such a relief. I've missed you so much."

"Pipes, I'm not going anywhere now. They put us in protection together, or we don't go. I'm not leaving you, I don't care what they say. Whatever they suggest, we do together. Come here, be my little spoon and get some sleep. We can think on things when we aren't tired."

Piper's eyes were already shutting. "mhhm, ok. I love you, Al."

"I love you too Piper." Alex said, brushing Piper's blonde hair from her shoulder and kissing the back of her neck. "No matter what."

 **guys i'm so, so sorry this has taken so long to post and I'm so so sorry that it's so short. Since the last chapter I've found out i'm pregnant again and I've got a condition called Hyperemesis gravidarum its a severe kind of morning sickness where you can't really keep any food or drink down. I've lost 5kgs (13Lbs) in the past 4 weeks. . I'm so ill I can barely even look after myself, let alone write fic, especially with a toddler screaming at me half the time. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be but rest assured that this fic isn't abandoned. Lise xx**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi guys, I thought I'd try and get another chapter out before new year, still not as long as I'd like but I'm still feeling a bit crappy.**

 **Hope you have all had a fabulous Christmas and I wish you all luck in the coming year :)**

 **Lise xx**

The next morning Piper woke up before Alex, she was lying with her head on Alex's chest and their legs tangled together. She could hear Alex's heart beating under her ear and she took a deep breath, relaxing and feeling completely content. She looked up and could see Alex's eyes fluttering about as she was dreaming. Piper stared at her for a good ten minutes, admiring every part of her. How warm and soft she felt, how right she felt. She disentangled herself from Alex carefully, threw on a t shirt and some boy shorts and then padded into the kitchen to get some coffee and make some toast.

It was 10.30am by the time Alex woke up. She lazily threw on some slacks and headed downstairs, Piper looked up from her place on the lounge where she was leant over the coffee table placing pieces of a jigsaw together. "Hey you."

Alex gave a bleak smile, not much of a morning person. "Hey, I'm just gonna grab some coffee, do you want some?"

Piper stood up and walked across the room, wrapping her arms around Alex's waist, pulling her soft body towards her and cuddling in. "Yeah, I want coffee."

Alex chuckled. "Whats this all about?"

"I've just missed you, Al. All this time apart, I can't stand it."

Alex kissed the top of her head. "I know, Pipes. I'm not going anywhere, maybe we can snuggle up and watch some movies today?"

"That sounds really nice."

Alex pulled away from her and walked into the kitchen mumbling to herself, "But first, coffee!"

Just as the girls were about to sit down to a movie the doorbell rang and in walked Sharon.

"Morning girls, we have a problem. Nicky Nicholls' apartment was broken into last night and Lorna Morello has gone missing. We were wondering if you had heard from her since last night?"

Piper jumped up. "What!? Lorna is missing? I don't get it. I thought you guys would be keeping an eye out on them!"

"We were, we only have so many resources, Piper. We are doing our best."

Piper snorted. "Yeah, clearly."

Alex breathed out and ran her hand down her face. "Fuck. This is all my fault. Nicky will be distraught, can you bring her here? What is she doing?"

"I have her giving a statement about the night last night and then I will ask her if she would like me to bring her here."

"How long are you going to keep us here?"

"Look, I'm not sure at this stage, we are going to have to increase security here, if anything else happens, Alex, I'm afraid you're all going to have to go into another protection plan."

"That's not an option, Sharon, I've got a business I'm not leaving so you'll have to come up with another plan."

Sharon rubbed her eyes. "Look, Alex, I told you this would happen but you still insisted on going through with it all anyway. We're bending over backwards here, chuck us a line."

On saying that, she turned on her heel and slammed the door on her way out.

Piper looked to Alex who was sitting with her head in her hands on the lounge.

"Are you ok?"

"No! She's right, Piper. This is all my fault, I have no idea what I was thinking. I'm going to take a shower."

Alex strode to the bathroom and slammed the door on her way in, Piper knew this was Alex needing some time by herself so she left her to it.

XXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Lorna Morello was sitting in a dark room, hands and feet bound. She was crying as a man hauled her to her feet.

"Get up, we're going to the boss."

"You better fucking let me go, I have cousins downtown who will kill you if they find you."

"Yeah, yeah princess, its not my decision. let your cousins find me."

Lorna was led into a small but luxurious office, red velvet and dark wood.

Kubra Balik was sitting at the desk and he smirked when he saw Lorna being dragged in giving one of his biggest boys so much cheek.

"Please, Lorna, take a seat, we have so much to discuss here."

Lorna stopped talking upon hearing the use of her name and sat down obediently, she didn't know what was going on, or how these guys knew her name but she had a pretty good idea they knew alot more about her.

"Alexandra Vause. Know her?" He raised one eyebrow.

"No. I don't, now let me go."

Lorna was starting to feel flustered, she knew who these guys were now and she understood they were incredibly dangerous, she had to protect her friends.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes! I don't know her."

"So, you aren't the same Lorna Morello who served time at litchfield the same time as her? Or the same Morello who is friends with her ex girlfriend?"

Lorna fidgeted in her seat. "I have heard of her but I don't know her and I haven't seen her since prison."

"Let's see." He nodded at the man standing to Lorna's right side and he hit her hard across the face, she yelped in pain.

"Are you absolutely certain of that?"

"YES! I'VE TOLD YOU, I HAVENT SEEN HER SINCE PRISON, SHE GOT OUT AND NO ONE HEARD FROM HER AGAIN. THATS ALL I KNOW." Lorna screeched in a panic, not knowing what was going to happen to her.

"Very well, have some time to think."

Kubra turned to the tall, bald man standing at the door. "Take her back to the room, we're using her as collateral, her little friends are about to come looking soon enough and it will give us more leads.

"Thank you for your cooperation so far, Lorna. We will talk again soon."

Lorna panicked, knowing this meant she wasn't being let go.

"No! You let me go! I have cousins downtown who will find out who you are!"

Kubra laughed, Mockingly. "Let them come."


End file.
